After Care Information for healthy healing

In order to promote healthy healing after your dental treatment, here’s a list of after care instructions for several procedures.

Post procedure instructions

The mouth is an extremely sensitive part of the body. Dental treatment of any kind requires taking extra after care of the area of operation. Whether you have had a routine procedure or something more complex, like a tooth extraction or periodontal surgery, there are several important steps you can take to maximize the results of your procedure, prevent infection, and ease any discomfort you might experience. Below are after care instructions from the dentists at Madison Family Dental. If you have any additional questions about your procedure or if you are experiencing abnormal bleeding, swelling, severe pain, or any reaction to medications, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Post-operative Care > Root Canal

Below are post-operative instructions from the dentists at Madison Family Dental. If you have any additional questions about your procedure or if you are experiencing abnormal bleeding, swelling, severe pain, or any reaction to medications, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Until your root canal procedure is completely finished and the permanent filling or crown is in place, it is wise to minimize chewing on the tooth under repair.

Upon completion of treatment, the tooth may feel sensitive for a few days due to natural tissue inflammation. This can usually be controlled with over-the-counter analgesics such as ibuprofen (e.g., Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (e.g., Aleve).

Pediatric Post-operative Care > Extraction

You can expect that your child will leave the office biting on gauze. They should remain biting on it for 30 to 45 minutes, or as directed by the dentist.

You can expect your child to be numb and you should watch them closely. Kids can do a lot of damage by chewing on a numb lip, cheek, or tongue and not realize it until the anesthetic wears off.

Keep activities low key for the first 24 hours. No running or jumping. Children should sit out of gym class as well. Reading, computer, homework, and television are some ideas for quiet activities.

It is often best to give children ibuprofen or Tylenol, whatever you would normally give for a fever or headache, before the anesthetic wears off. This may be all the pain medicine that they need.

No spitting or using a straw for the first 24 hours.

Try to eat soft foods for the first couple of days. Avoid hard, crunchy things and very hot things, like soups. Yogurt, eggs, ice cream, mashed potatoes, and applesauce are some good examples of things to eat during the first 24 hours.

Brushing is ok, just be gentle in that area.

You can expect the extraction site to ooze for the first few days and the saliva will likely be pink. This is normal.

Contact your dentist if any of the following develop:

A fever.

Severe swelling after the third post-op day.

Prolonged, severe pain or increased pain after the third post-op day.

Bright red bleeding you cannot control .

Prolonged numbness the day after the extraction.

Post-operative Care > Crowns

Upon leaving after the first visit, you will have a temporary dental crown on your tooth. A few precautions should be taken:

Avoid sticky or chewy foods (e.g., chewing gum and caramels), which have the potential of grabbing and pulling at the crown.

When cleaning your teeth, slide flossing material out rather that lifting it out. Lifting the floss out could pull off the temporary crown.

What’s safe to eat after crowns? With a temporary crown, it is important to keep anything very sticky or crunchy away from the crown. This is simply so that the crown does not get pulled off, or break under high chewing forces. Besides that, you may eat to your comfort level after the anesthetic is worn off. The gum and tooth may be tender in the area that the work was done, and sometimes it can be helpful to stick to a softer diet for the first few days after a crown. Once the permanent crown is cemented on, it is best to avoid sticky things for the first 24 hours. After that, you may eat, drink, and clean your tooth just like you did before. The crown and gum may be tender or sensitive for the first few weeks while the gum is healing from the work done.

Follow-up Care > Dentures

Cleaning your dentures every day is one of the most important things you can do to help your smile keep its attractive appearance. If you skip cleanings, plaque can form on dentures, making them less bright. Failing to clean your dentures regularly can result in staining and denture odor as well. To clean your dentures, apply a denture cleansing paste to a denture brush or soft bristled toothbrush. Brush all surfaces thoroughly. While you sleep at night, soak your dentures in a cleanser (e.g., Fixodent). Brush your gums, tongue, and palate with a toothbrush to remove plaque and stimulate circulation.

Post-operative Care > Dental Veneers

Following the preparation for cosmetic veneers, it will take two to three weeks for the dentist to receive the veneers back from the lab.

Occasionally temporary dental veneers can be placed until the permanent veneers are back.

Dental veneers do not require any special care once placed.

Continue to follow good oral hygiene practices, including brushing and flossing.

Post-operative Care > Dental Bonding

Following the bonding procedure, avoid excessive biting pressure on the teeth. Avoid chewing on ice, pencils, and hard objects. Continue to brush and floss regularly.

Pediatric Post-operative Care > Fillings

You can expect to be numb.

Avoid eating anything sticky or hard during the first 24 hours.

It is best to wait until anesthetic wears off before eating, for it is very easy to bite and traumatize some of the numb tissues in your mouth if you were to eat before it wears off. If you have had a ‘white’ resin filling, the filling is cured up completely after it is placed in your mouth, and after the numbness wears off, you can resume eating and drinking as you normally would.

If you had a silver metal filling, you can resume eating once the numbness wears off, but it is important to avoid anything significantly sticky or crunchy on the filling for the first 24 hours. After this initial 24 hours, you may eat and drink as you normally do.